of far off places and new beginnings
by riouu
Summary: Life can be a bit like traversing a tight-rope at times - a single misstep can send you tumbling, and regaining your footing is often difficult. At least when they lose their balance, they have each other for support.


**Title:** of far-off places and new beginnings

**Author:** riou

**Length: **2677 words.

**Fandom:** Inazuma Eleven.

**Pairing:** Kidou Yuuto/Fudou Akio.

**Warnings:** Mild language.

**Summary: **Life can be a bit like traversing a tight-rope at times - a single misstep can send you tumbling, and regaining your footing is often difficult. At least when they lose their balance, they have each other for support.

**Written:** 31st March 2012.

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><p><strong>of far-off places and new beginnings;<strong>

Winter had arrived without warning. It had crept in, drawing little attention to itself; a pale frost that took root and spread, and slowly smothered everything. Before people knew it, the city streets were paved with powdery white and the icy ground underfoot cracked and split, treacherous and slippery. Kidou Yuuto had not noticed the gradual advance of the chill at all, at least not until he had woken one morning to find his bedroom window foggy and frozen, tiny, perfect ice crystals breeding across the glass.

That morning, he wore his scarf.

In the evening to inevitably follow, he walked alone down roads clogged with crowds only to pass mere minutes later into deserted side streets where the air was quiet, crisp, and all sounds of the city bustle seemed strangely muffled somehow. A thick mist had descended during the bleak afternoon and it still lingered stubbornly now. As the grey horizon blended, buildings around him whispered into obscurity and soon opened onto the fringes of the empty park he always passed through on his regular route home. It was in one of these periods of welcome silence amidst the endless mist and trembling trees, when Kidou trudged through snow reaching to his ankles, that he came across Fudou.

Fog curled about the other boy's shoulders as he leaned back against the railings cordoning off a play area from the rest of the park. At this time of night the place looked almost abandoned, as all play parks tend to appear when bereft of children's boisterous shouts, and from somewhere behind Fudou sounded the low creak of the swings swaying in a nonexistent breeze. Fudou was alone, like Kidou, with only the bag at his feet serving as some semblance of company, his hands stuffed as deep into his jeans pockets as he could possibly shove them, and his face flushed with red from the cold. No wonder, mused Kidou, scrutinising his skinny figure up and down as he approached - he was not wearing any clothing appropriately thick enough for this sort of weather. He did not even have a scarf.

He looked lonely, standing there like that and sticking out like a sore thumb. Kidou had to wonder if he was the only one who felt like his presence was calling out to him in this muffled silence. Either way, there was no one else around to feel it. Crunching his way over, he absently took note of how the snow surrounding Fudou was completely spotless, unmarked by footprints. Clearly he'd been here a while.

As to be expected, he huffed a clouded breath at him when he came to realise just who had arrived to join him in chilly reverie, as if Kidou's being here amused him somehow. "Fancy seeing you here," he said casually, though his voice cracked some, like dry ice. He shuffled in place, and now he was closer, Kidou saw how his entire body shivered lightly, his eyes red-rimmed, his jacket torn at one wrist. Altogether, he was somewhat dishevelled, but managing to keep it together. Perhaps he had spent the past however many hours out here collecting himself back up again, piece by piece, acting like his being used to it meant it was easy.

"You're an idiot," Kidou responded - not the most polite of greetings, maybe, but a greeting all the same, and an honest one. Fudou was not one to chide him about his rudeness, was for sure, and if he did then he would quickly be named a hypocrite. "You'll catch your death of cold." Smartly gloved hands lifted and pressed to Fudou's cheeks, prompting his friend into muttering something that he did not quite hear and did not bother to ask him to repeat. Pulling away soundlessly, he tugged off his scarf, looped it about Fudou's neck, and pulled it snug. The other boy snorted.

"Honestly. As if I'd die from something so stupid."

He did not take off the scarf even as he stated this. Something about that juxtaposition had Kidou smiling to himself as he spun about and came to rest on the railing alongside him. He felt Fudou lean into his arm, just a little, reaching to ruffle his short, choppy hair then rubbing his hands together a bit before returning them to the relative warmth of his pockets.

"Bigger men have fallen to lesser things," Kidou told him matter-of-factly, which had Fudou rolling his eyes exasperatedly. Adjusting his glasses, the boy swiftly changed the subject before they got themselves into some sort of childish argument over the sheer mettle of Fudou Akio and how the very notion of him falling prey to a cold or worse was utterly preposterous (even if the former had happened numerous times in the past). "So, what was it this time?"

"Eh." Fudou looked as if he would rather go back to futilely arguing his previous, outrageous, point than explain. Pouting some, he turned his gaze out across the empty park, staring at the spaces between trees where mist swirled and the light of street lamps shone and filled the air with a sickly yellow glow. He said somewhat grumpily, "Got in a fight with the neighbour again. Bastard deserved the busted lip I gave him. I couldn't manage to pay the rent, too- a few times. I think the fight was definitely the last straw for the landlord though."

"I thought you'd set up an automatic-"

"Yeah, well. I lied. It's not as if I have the money right now, anyways."

Kidou exhaled a heavy sigh and mentally counted up the number of times similar scenes to this had occurred now - he judged quite accurately by the look on Fudou's face that he knew exactly what he was calculating to himself. The number did not please him, but he supposed it was not a pleasant situation for Fudou to constantly find himself in, either.

He was leaning into him a little more obviously now, a little less restrained as the warmth of Kidou's body bled into his own shivering one and had him unconsciously craving more of it. Kidou watched him sidelong, contemplative. One could always count on Fudou to be stubborn as hell once he set his mind to something. How long he'd been here was testament to that; for even if he knew the wiser thing to do was to find somewhere warm, he'd already made up his mind that he would stand out here in the cold by himself until he'd worked out a plan of action, or perhaps until someone who cared enough happened across him. Kidou recalled how this park was situated on his usual route home, somewhere he passed through every single day, and pushed up off the railing. Pursing his lips and furrowing his brows, he bent to snatch the other boy's bag from the ground. "Come on."

He was not sure when it had happened, but somehow, Kidou became his rock without really noticing it. Whenever Fudou found himself losing his balance, he was there to steady him. This underlying sense of support actually went both ways, he supposed.

When he looked back, he found Fudou watching him, features set in a frown. Still stubborn, still needing reassurance that it was okay. He was coarse, yes, but there was more to Fudou than the aloof persona he adopted around people. Kidou knew that best.

"Uh uh. No fuckin' way. Not again."

"Yes way. Get in the proverbial van and come with me."

"_No_, Kidou. I'm not getting in the goddamn pity van."

"It's not a pity van, and what other choice do you have? You're not sleeping out here all night, you'd die."

Fudou opened his mouth to make some sort of snappish retort but quickly closed it again, because his dreadlocked friend was unfortunately totally correct. This rather frustrated him and he puffed his cheeks out in obvious irritation. "It's too much. Makes me feel like I owe you even more."

He extended an arm in an attempt to grab his bag back but Kidou held it out of reach and calmly answered, "You don't owe me anything, I've already told you that. Besides, I'd rather know where you are and that you're not freezing to death under some bridge somewhere. Company's always appreciated, too." That said, he simply began to walk, which forced Fudou into following the kidnapper of his belongings after a long couple of seconds spent inwardly fuming, worn boots scuffing resignedly in the snow.

"...I would not freeze to death. I said that," he muttered, tone sour, but halfheartedly so.

Kidou smiled despite everything, and Fudou fell into step at his side.

Though he remained reluctant and adamant that he should go somewhere else for the whole of the walk back to the house, the comforting heat that radiated out of Kidou's home when his father opened the front door drew Fudou inwards on instinct. The warmth was a welcome relief after many hours spent shivering pathetically in a park; the fragrant aroma drifting from the kitchen promised a large plate of something delicious, too, from the looks of things. Fudou did his utmost to be gracious and polite (which was a strange sight), as he still quietly felt he was being bothersome, but he relaxed a little once he'd eaten and they had retreated to Kidou's bedroom for the night.

There, wriggling his way into one of the sweaters he'd dredged up from within the chaotic mess of his bag, Fudou sat on the edge of the bed and watched his friend change out of the corner of his eye. He carefully studied the contours of the muscles in his back until they were hidden from view beneath an old vest, and after that he turned his gaze to the window.

It had begun to snow again - snowflakes brushed soundlessly across the glass and gathered together in the corners, but the chill that accompanied them and had frozen him to the bone earlier could not be felt, staved off by the warmth that could be found in this house. Smiling a bit, Fudou appreciated the intricate beauty of the snowflakes from his position and listened to the silence for a second or two. Then Kidou jolted him out of his daydream, shoved him playfully aside and fell into bed, diving beneath the duvet. Fudou huffed and followed him under.

In their cavern of blankets where no one else save the two of them saw anything, Kidou lifted a hand to run his fingers gently through Fudou's hair. This affectionate gesture was a thing saved for secret moments such as now, along with the feather-light kisses they shared from time to time, when the instinctual pull was too much to bear (kisses that had originally started due to a shared sense of childish curiosity). Not even Endou or Gouenji had seen these secrets, or been told about them, and for the time being it was intended it remain that way.

"This is the fifth time now," said Kidou finally, breaking the quiet that had hung over the room.

"I know. You're too accommodating, Kidou," Fudou told him as he idly traced nonsensical patterns across his skin. He found and met his gaze, a feat which was far less of a challenge when Kidou was not wearing his tinted glasses.

"I meant it's the fifth time you've been kicked out, more than that."

"Oh. Well, yeah. Whatever." Fudou pulled a face, blew a few strands of his dark hair out of his eyes, and returned to tattooing Kidou's bicep with invisible, swirling designs penned by his fingertip. "I'll find the right job eventually, and get a place I can stay in for good," he said, hoping his words might come true this time around.

"You'll have to. You know I can't keep doing this." And they both knew what that meant. Being reminded of it caused Fudou to frown and cease his absent doodling - instead, he found himself lightly gripping the other boy's arm, as though he feared he would be whisked away to foreign countries at any moment. Were that to happen, he might as well be back out in the snow, for the bitter cold would creep in if Kidou was not here. Fudou was sure of that.

"...Your trip, yeah. That's...that's fine. I'll have it all sorted by the time you leave. It'd be bad to keep making you look after me like this, anyway." Suddenly the pillows must have looked very interesting for he lowered his gaze to them instead.

Kidou brushed some of his hair back behind his ear. "I already told you I don't mind looking after you," he murmured, trying to offer some reassurance. Unfortunately, it sort of backfired on him.

"Ah! You said it! You admitted you look after me like I'm some sort of helpless child!" Fudou cried shrilly, almost incredulous, smacking at his arm though there was no real force behind it.

"I only used those words because you did!" his friend protested.

"Because I was belittling myself, stupid." He paused again, brows knitting together in a deeper frown, before he snorted, muttered something that sounded like, "Whatever," and closed his eyes. "I'm going to sleep. G'night."

It seemed he wanted to drop the subject more than anything and for the time being Kidou allowed him that, lapsing into quiet once more beneath the blankets as the snow continued to fall outside. He spent the next ten minutes stroking through Fudou's hair and running over sentences in his head, picking and choosing the right words to say even as the moment slipped away and the other boy's eyes remained closed. In the end, there was only one thought on his mind, and one offer on his lips. The taste of it almost surprised him, but somehow it felt right.

"Come with me," he said softly, "to Italy."

At first he thought Fudou had not even heard, had already fallen asleep on him, but after a couple of seconds he scrunched his nose up slightly, bemusement flickering across his expression, and cracked his eyes open so as to squint at him. "What...?"

Meeting his gaze, Kidou took a breath than repeated with more confidence, "Come to Italy with me. We can train there together, try out for the pro team, maybe."

"Are you serious?"

In a matter of a few seconds, he had gone from looking half-awake and confused to being fully alert, staring wide-eyed at him in the dim. Nodding some, still toying with his hair, Kidou answered, "Of course. I'm sure we could arrange it somehow." His hand drifted slowly downwards, over Fudou's neck and the angular curve of his shoulder, following his arm until he reached his fingers. "Your company's always appreciated, after all," he said with a small smile as he laid his hand across Fudou's own. The other shifted some, tangled their fingers together and then their legs a moment later. He was grinning broadly - apparently he rather liked the sound of Kidou's offer.

"If you can put up with me, I'd love to."

"I've put up with you for years already. I'll be fine."

Fudou snorted, amused. "True."

Lifting his gaze from where he'd been staring at the links of their fingers, he watched him for a second without saying anything before he leaned in to smother Kidou's mouth with his own in a fiercely happy kiss. They clutched at each other for a bit, Fudou tugging lazily at Kidou's dreads while Kidou tried to press close enough that they might meld into one, just for a while. Eventually, though, Fudou pulled away and rolled onto his back, his chest rising and falling as he regained his breath.

"Imagine it," he laughed, staring up at the ceiling. That grin still curved the corners of his lips, only more casually now. "You and me, Kidou, starting a whole new life in Italy. I like it." So he set his mind to it.

And that was that, and somehow spring seemed closer and winter's chilly grip less choking.

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><p><strong>end.<strong>

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><p>recently it's been very misty where i live. i enjoy writing atmospheric sorts of scenes, i think - scenes like the one at the beginning of this story especially. honestly i'm not sure what to think of this fic, though, because i'm pleased with parts of it but then other bits just make me want to sigh and lie down for a while in the hopes it will magically read better when i sit back up.<p>

fudou is kind of in his cute little growing stage between his 14 and 24 y/o selves, with his short hair and all, thought i'm not sure exactly of how old they both are in this. it's more fun when their ages are left ambiguous, really - imagine them however you like! in my mind they're maybe between 16-20ish at least...? who knows.

i wrote most of this to Ljósið, by Ólafur Arnalds, which is some rather pretty music. and i swear i'll write other pairings too. i swear it! i may attempt a second part to this, though i'm not sure yet.

i adore you if you took the time to read this fic (and enjoyed it!). i'll be ecstatic if you take the time to tell me that in a review! c:

love,

riou


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